1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates generally to enclosures, housings, and computer housings in particular. More specifically, the field relates to a computer chassis for supporting redundant and non-redundant power supplies in the same computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computer systems in general and IBM compatible personal computer systems in particular have attained widespread use. These personal computer systems now provide computing power to many segments of today's modem society. A personal computer system can usually be defined as a desktop, floor-standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a system processor with associated volatile and non-volatile memory, a display monitor, a keyboard, a hard disk storage device or other type of storage media such as a floppy disk drive or a compact disk read only memory (CD ROM) drive. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a system board or motherboard to electrically connect these components together. These personal computer systems are information handling systems which are designed primarily to give independent computing power to a single user or group of users and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses. One way of keeping the cost of computer systems down is to manufacture systems that use electrical parts in an efficient manner. Given the number of electrical devices in a computer system, such efficiency is paramount.
Among the many electrical parts that must be manufactured efficiently is the power supply. Many computer systems, including computer servers, use redundant power supplies to avoid user down-time in the event of a power supply failure. Other computer systems utilize non-redundant power supplies. Typically, manufacturers either assemble computer systems with a non-redundant power supply or they assemble computer systems with redundant power supplies. What is needed is a computer system capable of efficient assemblage with either redundant or non-redundant power supplies.